John flantgan



(mil/10m) J. PLANIGA'N. BOTTLE STOPPBR.

No. 567,781. Patented Sept. 15, 1896.

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- recess, and immediately above the recess 10 DNJITEK STATES TENT GFFICE.

:Jon'N FLA IGAN OF roar WILLIAM, CANADA.

BOTTLE-STOPPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 567,781, dated September 15, 1896.

Application filecl January 22, 1896.

To all whom it mag concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN FLANIGAN, of the town of Fort William, in the Province of 011- tario and Dominion of Canada, have invented a new and Improved Bottle-Stopper, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The invention relates to bottle-stoppers of that type adapted to prevent a package after having once been sealed being presented again as an original package.

A further object of the invention is to construct such a stopper in a simple and economic manner, and to provide for the removal of the stopper without injuring the bottle, the stopper, while being applicable to any form of bottle, being so disfigured prior to its being withdrawn as to prevent its use a sec-- 0nd time.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a vertical section through the neck portion of a bottleand through the improved stopper applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a similar view, the stopper being shown in a slightly-modified form; and Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken substantially on the line 8 3 of Fig. 1.

Incarrying out the invention the body A of the bottle and its neck B may be of any desired shape, and the stopper comprises a cork O and a seal D, adapted to be located at the mouth of the bottle and over the cork. The cork C may be of the usual material, and is placed in the bottle in the usual manner, but at a point below the mouth thereof. The seal D is preferably made of glass, porcelain, or a like substance, and is provided at its bottom, preferably at the center, with a recess 10, the cork being reduced in size to fitin the a second and smaller recess 11 is produced in the top central portion of the seal, and the two recesses are brought sufiiciently close together to provide for a thin partition 12 being between them. The seal preferably con- Serial No. 576,442. (No inoclel.)

forms in cross-section to the shape in crosssection of the mouth of the bottle at the inside, and is made of slightly less diameter, so that it fits comparatively loosely in the mouth of the bottle. In the preferred form of the stopper the seal and cork are cemented together before the stopper is placed in the bottle, and when the stopper is in position in the neck of the bottle the upper face of the seal will be substantially flush with or slightly below the upper edge of the said bottle. W'hen the stopper is to be withdrawn, it is necessary to break the partition 12 between the upper and the under recesses 10 and 11, so that a corkscrew can be introduced through the opening thus obtained to reach the cork C. The cork and seal are then drawn from the neck of the bottle in the usual manner, and, since the seal must be fractured before the cork can be drawn, the seal cannot be again used without giving evidence of having been tampered with.

In Fig. 2 I have illustrated a slightly-modified form of the stopper, in which the seal is provided with a groove 13, adapted to receive a washer 14 of an elastic material such as rubber, and this washer and groove may extend entirely around the seal or but partially around it.

In the modified form of the stopper the cork O is first introduced into the bottle and its top is covered with sealing-wax or a like cementing material, and the seal is next introduced while the cementing material is still unset, so that the seal and cork may be connected in a manner to prevent one portion from leaving the other when the corkscrew is introduced.

The washer ll serves to hold the seal sufficiently tight in the mouth of the bottle to prevent its dislodgment other than through the medium of a corkscrew or similar instrument, and, since the top of the seal is flush with the upper edge of the mouth of the bottle or below the same, no purchase can be obtained on the seal for the purpose of removing it.

I'lavin g thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In a bottle-stopper, a seal adapted to be placed over a cork and provided with an upper and a loWer recess divided bya partition adapted to be fractured prior to the removal of the seal from the bottle, as and for the purpose specified.

2. In bottle-stoppers, a seal constructed of a hard material, having a smooth outer or upper face and provided with recesses in the top and in the bottom, the recesses being located one substantially above the other and separated by a partition capable of being readily fractured, as and for the purpose specified.

3. A bottlestopper, the same oonsistingof a cork, and a glass or porcelain seal adapted for engagement With the cork and provided with a recess in its under and in its outer face, the said recesses being separated by a readily-fraeturable partition, as and for the purpose specified.

4. A bottle-stopper, the same consisting of a cork, and a sealof a harder material at tached thereto, the said seal being adapted to be fitted in the mouth portion of a bottle, the said seal being provided with an outer and an inner recess separated by a readilyfracturable partition, the cork having a reduced section, to enter the inner recess of the seal, as and for the purpose specified.

5. In bottle-stoppers, a cork, a seal of a harder material adapted for engagement With the cork and provided With a Washer at its side and a recess in its top and in its bottom surface, the recesses being separated by a readily-fracturable partition, as and for the purpose specified.

JOHN FLANIGAN.

Witnesses HUGH FERGUSON, DUNCAN MCKENZIE. 

